Method and apparatus for drying warp sheets and the like



June 17, 1952 J. R. ANDREWS, JR 2,601,030

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING WARP SHEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 20,1949 2 SHEETS SHEET 1 mm LLL L Tici- "TTOFHTYS June 17, 1952 J. R.ANDREWS, JR 2,601,030

METHOD AND APPARATUS F OR DRYING WARP SHEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 20,1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 B Y eff ay 1%??? f ATTORNEYS Patented June 17,1952 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING WARP SHEETS AND THE LIKE John B.Andrews, Jr., Uxbridge, Mass., assignor to Bachmann Uxbridge Worsted(30., Inc., Uxbridge, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts ApplicationOctober 20, 1949, Serial No. 122,482

This invention relates to method and apparatus for drying warp sheetsand the like.

It relates to an air drier of the type disclosed in copendingapplication Serial No. 25,565, now Patent No. 2,541,383, and disclosesimprovements upon the method and apparatus disclosed in thatapplication.

In the use of apparatus of the kind disclosed in said copendingapplication I have found that air directed against the lateral marginsof a sized warp sheet tends to flow outwardly, around the edges of thewarp sheet, instead of through its lateral margins, thereby causing themargins of the warp sheet to roll. This is objectionable because itresults in uneven drying of the warp sheet and because it causes thelateral margins of the warp sheet to roll with the result that the sizedthreads comprising the marginal portions of the warp sheet are broughtinto contact with one another and tend to stick together.

An object of the invention is to provide a method and means for drying awarp sheet uniformly throughout its width.

Another object of the invention is to provide method and means fordrying a warp sheet without rolling the lateral margins, and withoutsetting up vibratory action or flutter in the warp sheet.

Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious or in partpointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the severalsteps and relation and order of each of said steps to one or more of theothers thereof, all as will be pointed out in the following description,and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in thefollowing claims.

The invention will best be understood if the following description isread in connection with the drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in cross section, with some partsbroken away;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing in full width a portion of aheader surface;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Figures 2 and 4; and

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Figures 2 and 3.

While applicable to headers of various shapes and applications myimprovements are illustrated and applied herein to the type of air drierdisclosed in detail in said co-pending application Serial No. 25,565. Itcomprises a housing In, which contains an air header I2 having an airdischarg- 7 Claims. (Cl. 34-23) ing surface Hi, and the header i5 havingthe air discharge surfaces [8 and 20. A warp sheet to is led into theclosure l0 after being sized in vessel 22, and preferably after havingbeen split into a plurality of warp sheets by the splitter roll 24, andis passed through a long reach, in close proX- imity to surface M ofheader [2, to the roller 25'. From the roller 24' it passes over the airdistributor surface I8 of header It; to roller 25, below the lower endof header l6, and from roller 26 it passes over the air distributingsurface 20 of header is to roller 28, and then back to and around roller30 adjacent the bottom of the closure, and from which it passes out ofthe closure in the direction indicated by the arrows 32 (Figure 1)through port 34 adjacent the bottom of the closure. From roller 30 toport 34 the warp sheet is moving in opposition to an incoming stream ofair which flows through port 34, through heating means 36 and bafflemeans 38, which as illustrated comprises a number of bafiles operated bysolenoid means which need not be further referred to herein as they formno part of the invention which is the subject of this application;through baiile means 40, heater 42, and fan member a l by which it isimpelled through port 35 into the interior of header !2, and through theair distributing members 4! to the discharge surface M of header [2.

The air issues from the ports in the discharge surface substantiallyevenly and with a gentle non-turbulent flow due to the employment ofbaffie means which are referred to hereafter, and which are disclosed indetail in said co-pending application Serial No. 25,565, and afterpassing through the warp sheet is drawn into fan 48 and expelled throughthe duct 59 in the direction of the arrows into header l6, beingdischarged through both surfaces It and 20 of header l5 through thereaches of the warp sheet which pass over said surfaces respectively ashas been described. The air discharged through surfaces 18 and 20 ofheader I6 is drawn into fan 44 and reheated and recirculated togetherwith new air supplied through port 34 which replaces air dischargedthrough outlet port 48 which it will be observed is positioned above thelower end of header l2 to exhaust the portion of the air which haspassed through the warp immediately after its entrance into closure l0and while it is in its wettest condition.

It will be understood that the number and disposition of the air headersemployed, and the flow of air between the headers, after passing throughthe reach or reaches of the warp sheet, form no part of this inventionwhich is directed to improvements in the control of air flow between aheader discharge surface and the reach of the warp sheet which passesover said surface.

A shown herein each of the air discharg sur faces comprise laterallyextending air slots so which extend across the path of a warp sheet andare disposed at right angles to the path of the warp sheet in spaced,substantially parallel relation.

The air slots 50 are defined by lips or projecting flanges 50 and 50(Figure 4) extending the full width of the slot and projecting outwardlyfrom the surface of the header toward the path of the warp sheet.Extending over the open 'mouthor nozzle 52 of each air slot 50 is au-shaped deflectcr 54 of the type disclosed in said co-pendingapplication Serial No. 25565, against which air strikes upon leaving thesaid mouth 52. Baffie 54 reverses the direction of flow of air from theslot 50, dividing it and directing it back toward thehead'er surfacebetween slots or ports 50, but the resulting 'ai'r streams are againdirected outwardly toward the warp sheet by means of baffles 55projecting from the surface of the header between adj acent-air'slots50.

While this ba file and deflector means, as Well as the bafiiemeans shownin Figure 3 of said copending application Serial No. 25,565, i of greatutility and effectiveness in eliminating turbulence in the air streamand in providing a flow of gentle air against a warp sheet, neverthelessit has been found in many instances, as for example where the sizingtends to bridge over between adjacent threads of a warp sheet, that theair which is discharged from the end portion of the air slots 50 maytend to flow sidewise around the lateral margins of the warp sheet, thuscausing under drying of the lateral margins of the w'arp sheet.

To overcome this difficulty I close the ends'of the air slots 50 if theyare not already closed by th -sides of the header as shown 'herein, andprovide the air intercepters 60 and '62 extending lengthwise of theheader'a'djac'ent its lateral margins, preferably with the outer ends ofthe intercepters extending toabout from the path of the warp sheet anddisposedlaterally about 1'' beyond the margins of the warp sheet.However, it is not sufficient to employintercepter til and 62 alonebecause of the vibration or flutter which is then set up in the warpsheet travelling over the header surface, and is harmful since it tendsto stretch the threads comprising the warp sheetmargins more than thoseat the center of the warp sheet thus rendering the warp sheetnon-uniform. I have found, however, that by providing additionalintercpters, such 'for example as 64, 66 and 68 positioned inwardly of,and in substantially parallel relation to intercepter 60, at spacedintervals under a warp sheet margin and intercepters such as 10, T2 andM in substantially parallel relation to inter cepter -62, at spacedintervals inwardly from-intercepter 62,the vibration or flutter issubstantially eliminated.

Good results have been obtained with the intercepters spaced about twoinche apart, starting from the outside-intercepters 60 and 62 positionedwith their outer ends about one inch beyond the lateral marginsrespectively of the warp sheet and approximately three-quarters-of aninch from the'plane of the warp sheet. 7

The extreme marginal intercepter members-60 and'62 may be angularmembers having portions and 62 respectively, overlying and covering theextreme marginal areas respectively of the header surface, especially ifthe Warp sheet is substantially narrower than the Width of the headersurface. I have found it desirable to extend the intermediateintercepters 64, 66, 68, 69 and '10, 72, 73, 15 into the air slots 50,and thus below the level of the tops of the deflectors 54 and into theplenum chamber of the header. Thus the intercepters may be formed withthe projecting tongues 15 adapted to be inserted between adjacentbaffles 54 and to extend well down toward the top of the baffles 55.

I have found that the exact inclination of the marginal air-deflectingmembers 60, 62 and of the members 64,156, '68, F69 and 10, l2, l4, 15,may be best determined bytrial and error for each header surface and foreachof said members since slight variations occur in manufacture in theheight or spacing of the air discharge nozzles 59 and baflles 54 and 56and in the volume of air delivered through the several air slots. Afterhaving determined the optimuminclination for'each'theintercepters may be's'ecured in place in any suitable Wayas for example by Welding to thetops of the bafile members-54.

By the steps and apparatus disclosed herein a drying action is obtainedwhich is satisfactorily uniform throughout the full width of the warpsheet, and'the'difiiculties of inward rolling of the edges of the warpsheet, or vibration or flutter of the warp sheet are substantiallyeliminated.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention amethod'and apparatus in which the various objects hereinabove set forthtogether with many thoroughly practical advantages are-successfullyachieved. As various possible'embodiments might be made of themechanical features of the above invention and as the art hereindescribedmig'l'itbe varied in various parts, all without departing fromthe scope of the invention, it-is to be understood that all matterhereinbefore set forth or shown in the'accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative-and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim-is:

1. An air distributing header for drying Warp sheets and the lik havin aplurality of substantially parallel air discharge slots including bafflemeans extending over said slots in the direction of the path of a Warpsheet, to modify the flow of air from said slots, and deflector membersprojecting outwardly from said bafile members over the lateral marginsof said air slots respectively to intercept the "air from 'a'dj'a'cntthe l'ateral'margins'of the slots "and direct it to pass through thelateral margins respectively "of the warp sheet and minimize new or theair laterally ar'oun'd'the edges of the'wa'rpsheet.

2. The'device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a number of saiddefiector-meinbers'are provided extending over the margins of said airslots -a'nd disposed in spaced substantially parallel relation to oneanother and substantially at right angles to said slots.

3. The device as'claimed in claim l'in'w'hich there is one airdeflecting membe'rpositioneddn substantial alignment with eachextreme'lateral margin of said air slots to intercept air circlingaround the edge of the warp sheet'and to direct said air through the adjacentlateral margin of said warp sheet, and other-airdeflecting=memhers-are disposed inwardly from said marg-irial airdeflecting members at spaced intervalsaand 5 substantially parallel withthe said extreme marginal air deflecting members.

4. The method of drying a warp sheet which comprises moving the warpsheet across and substantially at right angles to a flow ofsubstantially non-turbulent air, and confining and directing the airflow to prevent the extreme lateral portions thereof from flowing aroundthe lateral edges of the warp sheet, and directing air against the warpsheet along lines substantially parallel to the edges of the warp sheetat spaced intervals from the lateral margins of the warp sheet to avoidflutter in the warp sheet.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4 which includes the step ofintercepting and deflecting inwardly air directed toward said Warp sheetat a plurality of spaced intervals from the lateral margins respectivelyof the warp sheet, to prevent rolling of the extreme lateral margins ofthe warp sheet and to prevent flutter in the warp sheet.

6. An air distributing header having a surface adjacent and parallel tothe path of a warp sheet, air ports in said surface extending laterallyof said header through which air from the header is discharged towardthe warp sheet and substantially at right angles thereto, marginal airdeflecting members extending at right angles to said air ports along itslateral margins respectively, and toward the path of a warp sheet, andadditional air deflecting members positioned inside but adjacent to saidmarginal members, and substantially parallel to said marginal membersand adapted to deflect air inwardly from the REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,357,314 Cobb Nov. 2, 19201,945,851 Freeland Feb. 6, 1934 2,141,403 Ofien 1- Dec. 27, 19382,152,238 Bridges Mar. 28, 1939 2,282,946 DeRoo May 12, 1942 2,426,415Rose Aug. 26, 1947

